Sweet Memories
by La Vie Musicale
Summary: All the beautiful, fluffy moments captured between the cast of Bleach. This is mostly IchiRuki, but they aren't the only in the series to have sweet moments are they? *wink*
1. Chapter 1

**So, it's been a while since I've done this so please forgive me if I'm a bit rusty. I started this a few months ago and I have never really done this with Bleach, so we'll see how it goes… Don't own, of course.**

**Title: Hanabi**

**Date: July 23, 2013**

* * *

"Hey, Rukia-chan!"

A short, raven haired teenager turned to see an orange haired, busty, grey eyed girl run up to her.

"Oh, hi, Inoue-san."

"Hey, are you going to the firework show tonight? Everyon'es gonna be there."

Rukia looked at her friend, Inoue Orihime, and gave a smile. "I don't know. With the moving going on, I don't think I'll have much time to spare…"

"Oh, but you have to go! Itwill be the last time you see us for a while!" Orihime replied, starting to walk with Rukia. Rukia looked at the hem of her own dress and smiled sadly.

"It's weird to hear people say that…"

"O-oh! I… I didn't…"

"No, it's no problem. America is long distance away. It's true that I won't be back for a while."

"When do you move officially?"

"Two weeks. So, it's just around the corner…"

"Oh wow… How did Abarai-kun take it?"

"Honestly, better than I thought. I mean, he was upset, but he said he would start saving money to visit us in New York."

Orihime gave a smile. "That sounds like him. Well, you know we'll all miss you. It won't be the same without you…"

"Thanks." Rukia said with a smile. She watched as Orihime made her way down a break off the main road they had been walking on towards their mutual friend's house. She couldn't tell her the real reason she didn't want to go to the fireworks display. She and a certain carrot top… they hadn't really had a chance to talk about her departure. And she had been too busy with the moving that this walk was the most she had gotten out in a month. She wanted to talk to him. After all, he was one of her closest friends, even closer than her childhood friend, Abarai Renji, in some respects. She had even thought they coud be more than that.

Rukia laughed humorlessly at herself. She had waited too long…

"Rukia?"

Said person looked up to find the carrot top she had just been thinking of. Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Hi, Ichigo…" She replied with a somewhat sadder tone than she had meant to. And the problem was that he could always tell when something was wrong.

"You okay?"

"I am. I'm just… thinking about things I guess."

Ichigo tilted his head. "In a good way, or a bad way?"

"I dunno… I guess in a different way."

Ichigo heaved. "Leave it to a Kuchiki to confuse the hell outta me…"

Rukia cut her eyes. "What was that?"

"You and your brother always complicate things…"

"We do not complicate! We think things through! That's different!"

"Says you. Normal people on the other hand…"

"I'm more normal than you are!" Rukia yelled, which made Ichigo start to chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"You're back to normal now."

Rukia blinked a few times, then gave a small smile. "Thanks."

"So… how is moving going?"

"It's going, I guess… We're almost done with it, so that's good."

"When are you leaving?"

"Two weeks…"

"Wow… that's soon… And you're moving to New York, right?"

"Yeah… I kinda don't want to leave though…"

Ichigo stared at her for a second. "Let me treat you to some cake."

"W-what?"

"You're upset, and sugar always helps. At least that's what Yuzu says."

Giving a smile, Rukia nodded. "Well, I can't very well argue with Yuzu."

Ichigo nodded and in about ten minutes they had reached a café on the edge of town.

"It's so hot today… Can I order an iced tea?"

"Sure, I don't care."

The waitress came and went, taking their orders with her.

"So, are you coming to the fireworks show tonight at the river? Everyone said they're going to be there."

"I dunno… I wasn't planning on it, to be honest."

"Too hard to say goodye?"

To that, Rukia nodded.

"Well, you know it's going to happen one way or another. If you don't everyone would just jump on a plane and track you down in New York. So it would just be easier to come and say goodbye in person."

"I guess you have a point."

"Of course I do. Anyways, you should just come. Make it your last hurrah with us."

The waitress came back with two ice teas and a slice of Angel Food cake with white icing. They thanked her before she left.

Rukia took a sip of her tea. "I guess I'll come, then."

"Great. I'll pick you up at eight."

"Pick me up? I can make it there by myself."

"Yeah, but I got you a going away present and I wanted to give it to you."

"Is that so? What is it?"

"A surprise."

"Hmph. That's no fun."

"But it makes the surprise that much better, don't you think?"

Rukia simply put a small forkful of her cake in her mouth. Honestly, she was very happy that Ichigo had even thought of giving her a present. She felt butterflies start to form in her stomach and her heart started to race as she thought about what her present could be.

After Rukia was done eating, Ichigo paid, and they left. Ichigo had made it his goal for the day to get Rukia to forget about the fact that she was moving away, so he took her to the arcade, and was even nice enough to win her a prize from the crane machine. That would be part of the surprise later.

After a couple more hours of fun, Ichigo walked Rukia back to her house. He looked at his watch, which read 2:30.

"Okay, Rukia. I gotta head out. But I'll see you at eight. You better be ready."

"I will be. And don't forget my present either!"

"I won't."

Rukia gave a smile, and walked into her house. After she was sure he was gone, she rushed to her room, a smile painted on her face. All of a sudden, she looked forward to the firework show.

A few hours passed, and Ichigo game to the door and knocked loudly. Rukia rushed to the door before her brother could reach it, and found her carrot topped friend.

"Hi. Where is my present?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, and handed her a wrapped, square looking item, with a Chappy the Rabbit doll on top of it. She smiled and quickly unwrapped the paper, and revealed a small photo album. She flipped through it and found pictures of past memories with different friends.

"I got everyone to give their best pictures with you to me to make a memory book. Yuzu and Karin helped mostly with it."

"Oh wow, Ichigo… This is so amazing. I love it so much."

"I'm glad. This way you won't forget us. Plus, I put everyone's webcam addresses in there so you can call us."

"The time zones though…."

"Eh, I'll pick up. I promise."

"Even during school?"

"You'll get me out of class so I won't mind."

Rukia gave a smile as she continued to look through the pictures in the photo album. She remembered every memory the picture held, and smiled at each one.

"We gotta get going, Rukia. Everyone's waiting."

"Oh yeah. You're right. I almost forgot." She ran up to her room to put her gift away and rushed back down. "Okay, let's go."

As the teenagers walked down the street in a comfortable silence, Ichigo glanced down at his companion. She caught him and gave a happy smile.

"You know, Ichigo, I've wanted to tell you something."

"Is it something I'll want to hear?"

"I hope so, but I don't know for sure." Rukia laughed nervously. "Honestly, I'm wondering what your response will be."

"You won't know unless you tell me."

"I know. It's just finding the words."

"Oh. A secret huh?"

"in a manner of speaking."

"Well, I am pretty good at keeping secrets. Lay it on me."

"If you say so… Okay, let's stop for just a second so I can tell you." With that, Ichigo slowed to a stop and looked at Rukia. She gave a smile after a deep breath.

"Well, I know it's a bit late in the game, seeing as how I'm moving in two weeks. But it'll make me feel a little better to tell you in person."

"Okay…"

"I really like you Ichigo. I mean, I like spending time with you, just being around you makes me happy. And I'll miss you the most, because I have such strong feelings for you." She ended with a nervous smile.

"Is that so? IT's a small world, huh?"

"How so?"

"I like you too. And I'll probably miss you the most out of our whole group. I just thought I was out of time because you were leaving. Plus, you and Renji have a history, so…"

"Oh… yeah… He confessed to me a little earlier this week. But when I told him no, he figured it out and he kept the secret."

"He kept quiet? What a surprise."

"He does have tact sometimes."

Ichigo smiled and stepped closer to Rukia, leaned down, and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm gonna miss you so much. I hope you know that."

Rukia smiled. "I'm gonna miss you a lot too…"

"Well, for the moment, let's not think about the move. Let's go see those fireworks."

Rukia nodded and walked beside Ichigo as they continued towards the river bed.

"Oh! You guys made it!" A spikey-haired raven topped girl smiled. "Took you long enough! It's just about to start! Come on!"

"Cool it, Tatsuki." Ichigo grumbled. Tatsuki stuck her tongue out at him before walking over to Orihime. About a minute later, the fireworks started. Rukia looked at Ichigo, tearing her gaze away for something even better.

"I'm glad I decided to come."

Ichigo smiled and took her hand. "Me too."

* * *

**Okay, this was the first part. Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wanting**

**Finished : 7/26/ 2013**

* * *

Renji watched as his childhood friend ran around with paperwork. She was still getting used to life as a vice captain, but he knew she could handle it, she always could. She could always handle anything that was thrown at her. Her tenacity was one of her most appealing traits.

After the X-cution incident in Karakura, work had started to pile up, making things a bit more difficult to handle, and Renji had not been able to spend any time with Rukia. But he had made sure that on the upcoming Sunday, he and his best friend would spend some time together, to try to reconnect a little bit.

Days passed, and before anyone knew, it was Sunday. Tying his long, cherry red hair into a ponytail, Renji rushed for the Kuchiki household to retrieve his friend.

"Ah, Renji."

To be perfectly honest, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous when Kuchiki Byakuya opened the door. Yes, he was a trusted superior. Yes he was an amazing comrade. But today, he saw him not as a brother in arms, but as the over-protective head of the family and older brother that he was.

"Good afternoon, Kuchiki-taichou."

"I assume you're here to see Rukia?" To that, Renji nodded. "Well she was just called into work for a minute."

"Today's her day off though, right?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo reports to Ukitake-taichou, and as vice-captain, she has to overlook the paperwork. After he leaves, it shouldn't take her long."

"So… he's here now?"

"Don't you feel his reiatsu? He couldn't hide it even if he wanted to." With that, Byakuya went back into his house, closing the door and leaving Renji to do whatever it was he had planned to do.

"It has been a while since I've seen Ichigo, I guess…"

With his new goal in mind, Renji quickly flash stepped to the thirteenth squad's barracks, only to find Jushiro watching Ichigo and Rukia argue, quite amused.

Ichigo simply scratched the back of his head in what seemed like a gesture of surrender and took something from Rukia. Walking up at the end of their conversation, he saw that Ichigo looked exhausted while Rukia looked incredibly smug. He had seen that look before. WAY too many times, so he knew exactly how Ichigo felt.

"Oh, hey, Renji."

"Hey. You okay?

"It's hard to argue with her…"

Rukia smiled again. "Then don't argue with me. Just do what I say."

"What you say isn't always the best thing to do…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing… I gotta get going. I have better things to do than argue with a midget."

Resisting the urge to cast a kido spell on him, she opened the senkaimon and all but pushed him through it. "And don't forget my dessert!"

A few seconds later, Rukia gave Renji a smile. "Give me about ten minutes and I'll be out. I just have to finish this paperwork."

"Oh, Rukia-chan. If you have plans with Renji-kun, go ahead."

"Are you sure?"

Jushiro nodded. "I can get Kiyone-san or Sentaro-kun to do it. Don't worry."

"Thank you, taichou!" Rukia bowed. "Let's go, Renji."

A second later, both of them were gone. They reappeared in a shopping district Seireitei. "So, what do you want to do to today?"

"Why don't we stroll through Rukongai? It's always nice to go back and reminisce."

"Sure. That actually sounds like fun."

A quick shunpo later, they were walking through the torn down and abused 78th district of the Rukongai.

"I can't believe we grew up here… He seems like a different lifetime."

"It kind of was a different lifetime."

"I guess that's true. But this made me what we are today. So, in a way, we owe it."

Rukia gave a smile. "Well, thank you for taking me out here. I haven't been here in awhile."

Renji nodded. "So, what's new? Anything?"

"Just work. And ever since Ichigo was put under Ukitake-taichou's jurisdiction, we've just had extra work."

"How often does he come back?"

"Once a month. He just has to report if any unusual activity has happened in Karakura. Ever since Aizen had explained how important the town is and how much reiatsu is flowing through it, we need to monitor it carefully."

"Makes sense."

Rukia gave a laugh. "He always has been more work than he's worth…"

"So, what were you two arguing about this time?"

"I wanted him to bring back some shira-tama, and he thought he had a choice in the matter."

"Ah. You two always seem to have fun like that."

"What do you mean?"

Renji shook his head. "Nothing." He saw as Rukia looked at him puzzled and thought about it. Why had he stopped? He could deal with answers pertaining to this subject. It wasn't necessarily taboo. It was more like uncharted territory. And he needed answers.

"Are you sure?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, and ignoring the butterflies, he decided to dive in head first. "How do you feel about Ichigo?"

"What? I don't understand…"

"Well, I guess… what I mean is… do you have feelings for Ichigo…? I mean-"

"Do I like him?"

Renji felt the butterflies quadruple in his stomach. "Um… yeah. I guess that's what I'm asking…"

Rukia gave a small smile. "It's been a long time since I've had feelings like this. So long that I don't even know how to describe it. So honestly, I couldn't tell you. But I can tell you this: when I'm with him, everything seems right. I don't worry about anything. Even in a life or death situation, I know it will be okay if I'm with him. Does that mean I like him?"

Renji nodded, but he knew he was lying. That didn't mean she liked him. That meant she loved him. The fact that Ichigo could make her feel that way, someone she had only known for a few years…

"But nothing would ever happen between us."

"Why?"

"Think about it. I'm technically dead. He's alive with is whole life ahead of him. He could stop being a substitute if he wanted to. He could get a job in the Living World, get married, maybe even to Inoue, and they could have beautiful children and grow old together. And that would be fine, because that's the natural order of things."

"How do you know that he actually would want that?"

"I don't. But a happy life is what he deserves."

"And if he says he's happy with you?"

"He's truly a fool if he were to say that." Rukia smiled. Renji watched her face and found that while her words said one thing, her face said the total opposite. If he said anything that hinted toward a lifetime with Ichigo, she would take it, hands down.

"Well, there would be ways. I'm sure with Urahara-san's gigais it would be possible."

"Hm. Maybe. But…"

"But?"

"I'm sure he's not thinking anything like that, and neither am I really. I'm happy with the way my life is now. Anyways, do you want to go get lunch?"

Renji gave a smile. "Sure. That sounds good." It was obvious she was in love. And honestly, that realization broke Renji's heart. But nothing was done about it yet.

He knew, however, that Ichigo had some kind of strong feelings for Rukia. He remembered feeling Ichigo's feelings when he defeated him while trying to save Rukia. And he remembered feeling his reiatsu turn around during her fight in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo realized even faster than he himself did. At that moment, he realized that Rukia was one of the most important people in Ichigo's life, and he would risk his life to protect her.

And that was exactly what Rukia needed. And Ichigo could fulfill that much better than he himself. Not that that realization didn't sting. But… he knew that.

So, instead of being jealous or conniving, he decided to be there for his friends, and maybe even push them in the right direction.

* * *

**AN: I just realized as I was typing this up, that it would be possible for Rukia to do the whole Gigai thing and having a family. Urahara is just freaking amazing, and Isshin did that exact thing, which is why Ichigo is technically half Shinigami. *MIND BLOWN* (BTW, it is very late as I write this so it's not hard to impress me, lol.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Simple & Lovely**

**Finished: 8/4/ 2013**

* * *

He glanced at her face, sleeping and peaceful before he searched in the dark for his white, button up shirt. A small part of him whispered quietly that he should probably just get back in the bed with her. It wasn't as though he couldn't skip a day at work. He was ahead of the game there.

He stopped looking for his shirt and looked at the young woman who was sleeping in the bed that he was next to. Her face was soft looking and pale, and a faint smile was etched into her lips. Her short black hair framed her face well, giving her a more beautiful look. Her only covering was the blanket they had been sharing until five minutes ago, but her beautiful thin body was still carved in his mind, her smooth skin still tingling on his fingertips.

Was this how it always was when people had these encounters? He had coworkers brag to him how they had them, and never talked to their temporary partners again after the experience. Glancing at the lady in the bed, he wondered if he wanted to just not contact her anymore.

He glanced around the floor, this time half heartedly, still looking for his shirt. He looked at her again. She really was beautiful. What did she do for a living? From the conversation they had earlier, what he could remember anyways, she seemed very intelligent. There was any number of things she could be, from a model to a lawyer.

Looking at the ground on final time, he found his shirt and lightly picked it up.

The small part of him that had at first whispered 'don't go' was now shouting to drop the shirt and sneak back into bed with her.

Giving a quiet sigh, he looked at the nightstand where he had managed to throw his cell phone in the torrent of passion just a few hours before, and found a digital clock beside an outline of a lamp that read 2:20 AM. If he was going to leave, he should do it now.

But there was an attraction too strong to let him just leave. He looked at her again and couldn't help thinking he had just fallen for a girl he met at a bar. Sighing again, and giving a soft smile, he quietly leaned over the bed and kissed her on the forehead.

She woke up to the sun peaking through the blinds of her window and stretched underneath her bed sheets. In her half awake state, she was surprised to find herself nude, but she quickly remembered.

Looking around, she searched for any trace of her visitor, hoping that he had left something of his, but her room was clean. She laughed humorlessly. That's what she got for hoping something would happen…

Last night, after she was sure he was asleep, she took a closer look at the man she had brought home. His orange hair was oddly attractive, and she found herself holding back the urge to run her fingers through it. He had lean muscles hidden by smooth tan skin, and a jaw line that could make any woman swoon. And if she remembered right, a smirk that could make your heart stop.

He was nothing short of handsome, and from the conversation they had before, he had a brain under that mess of orange hair. He had to have been a perfect guy. She found herself unconsciously placing a soft kiss on his cheek before checking her clock. 1:50 AM. She guessed that would be the goodbye kiss.

Coming back to the present, she slowly found her robe, hoping to find some kind of contact information in the pockets. She felt silly for hoping when she found nothing, but it was worth a try.

Upon opening her bedroom door, she was met with a delicious aroma of coffee mixed with an omelet. She immediately went on the defensive until she saw in her kitchenette, the orange haired man from the night before. He stood dressed in the same clothes she had met him in as his deep chocolate eyes looked up from the mug he was drinking from.

"Oh, good morning." Even his voice was melodic. "I hope you don't mind but I made coffee and breakfast."

He noticed her jewel-like eyes blink in surprise. "I don't… but I thought you left…"

"Sorry, but I couldn't leave without thanking you. And possibly getting your name."

"Kuchiki Rukia."

She watched as his lips formed a smirk. "It's nice to formally meet you. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Likewise. So, do you always make breakfast for one night stands?"

"Well, seeing as you're my first, I don't think that's very likely."

"Small world. This… was my first one night stand too…"

"Ah." Ichigo said, still keeping the heart-stopping smirk on his face. "So, I was wondering if you were busy today."

Rukia went to her silverware drawer and found a clean eating utensil. "No, I'm free. Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well… honestly, I don't really know how these things go, but I do know that normally people part ways after this. I don't think I want to part ways with you."

Blinking a bit, Rukia smiled. "Are you sure…?"

"Sure enough to take a day off. Optimistic that you'll say yes."

"Way to put the pressure on, Kurosaki."

Ichigo chuckled. "Please, we've seen each other naked. You can call me Ichigo."

Rukia couldn't help but laugh at the comment. "Okay, well you can call me by my first name. It's only fair."

"So, what do you say, Rukia?"

"Sure, why not? It sounds fun."

"Okay. Let's meet at the train station. We can go in the main part of the city. I'll treat you to lunch." He said as he washed out the coffee mug, putting it back where he found it. "I'll be there in an hour." Shortly after, he left through the front door, leaving Rukia to enjoy her breakfast.

"This is good…"

An hour later, the two of them met at the station as promised, both in their street clothes. He gave a smile when he saw her.

"You came. I gotta be honest. I half expected you to stand me up."

"I wouldn't do that. I said I would be here."

"So let's go do something fun."

Rukia nodded with a smile, and got their tickets before boarding the train.

"So," Ichigo started. "I guess I should start by asking about yourself."

"Well, I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Twenty-four years old. I work as an assistant to a philosophy professor at Tokyo University, but I'm working on getting my Master's in Philosophy at the moment. I have an older brother who's a huge business scion and that's about it for now, I guess."

"Your big brother is Kuchiki Byakuya, huh?"

"Y-yeah…" Rukia suddenly regretted giving that information. When she had told people before, they seemed to either get scared of her, or be more interested in her name or her brother's company.

"I did a job for him once…"

"A job…?"

Ichigo nodded. "He sent chills down my spine at first, but then he wasn't so bad. He hated me calling him by his first name though…"

"What do you do?"

"Advertisement. It's pretty fun. You meet people like Byakuya. Anyways, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and I'm twenty-four. Got two younger sisters and my dad's a doctor. My goal is to help as many people as possible. And a side-note: I'm more interested in you than your name."

Rukia blushed as he smirked at her. "How did-"

"It's written all over your face. Don't worry so much."

A few minutes later, they reached downtown Tokyo and went walking through the crowded city. Both were used to it from their jobs, so they knew how to stick together. Rukia ended up getting hungry after awhile, and they found themselves at an oddly quiet restaurant.

"So, your treat right?"

"As long as it's not too insane of a request." He replied, making Rukia smile. "Listen, I hope this is okay. I know that usually one night stands don't result in situations like this… but when I saw you this morning, I didn't want to just leave without talking to you again…"

Rukia smiled. "I'm glad you didn't just leave. Now give me your phone." Ichigo complied and after half a minute, she handed the phone back. "Now you have my info." The waiter came back shortly after and after a bite to eat, they decided to temporarily part ways.

"I'll be expecting a call from you soon."

"You got it." Ichigo said as he watched Rukia walk off, a smile painted on his face.

* * *

**AN: Okay, that is the last one for the night. I have a few more on the back burner, but if anyone who is reading has any ideas for me, you should totally either leave it in the reviews or PM me. I will give credit where credit is due, and if it's something I can feasibly do, I'll just give the author's name and a summary of the story idea. Reviewers can tell me whether I hit the mark or not. Just let me know! Thanks for reading! ^.^**


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